


A Human Heart

by DemonzDust



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Gore, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Canon, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Recovery, ScottMcCallWeek, Shock, Trauma, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-06
Packaged: 2020-01-01 09:43:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18333482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DemonzDust/pseuds/DemonzDust
Summary: To me, you are worth saving. To me, your soul is worth saving.In the final conflict, Scott knows that they won’t be able to save everyone. He kills Monroe himself, but when Theo moves to take a life Scott stops him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

>  
> 
>   
> 
> 
>   
> **For Scott McCall Appreciation Week**

In the end, there were only so many lives they could save.

Scott knew that no matter how hard he tried to end the conflict without the loss of life, that it would eventually come down to this. The choice between saving the lives of people that would slaughter and kill, or saving the lives of their innocent victims. 

He admitted as much to the pack before the final conflict.

Wars weren’t won without bloodshed.

Despite the fact that they all knew it to be true, and that they all nodded their heads in agreement, the pack had still been devastated to hear the words leave Scott’s mouth. It wasn’t that they didn’t understand or that they disagreed. It was just that, deep down, no matter how much they’d jokingly bemoaned not being able kill people to solve their problems, they had never thought it would actually come to this.

They believed in Scott too much to be able to see it coming.

It didn’t surprise Theo. It didn’t tarnish Scott in his eyes. If anything, it only made him shine brighter. Even back when Theo was with the Dread Doctors, it had been difficult to convince himself that Scott’s reservations about killing were merely for his own vanity. He knew that if it came down to it, Scott would kill someone evil to save the lives of others. He would just only do so if it was the very last option.

Scott didn’t ask any of them to stay and fight. He asked Liam to leave with the younger members of the pack and get as far away from the conflict as possible. He told the rest that he would be staying, and that they didn’t have to stay with him. He said that if they did stay, he wanted them to do everything possible to stay alive.

They all knew what that meant.

Scott asked Derek to join him. He asked Peter and Deucalion. He’d asked numerous former enemies and allies that he knew wouldn’t bat an eyelash to take a life.

He didn’t ask Theo, but Theo assumed that was just because it was obvious that he would be staying by Scott’s side. From the moment Scott let him stand with him when he faced Monroe in the Sheriff’s Station, Theo had hardly left it.

Following Scott’s principles had been nice while it lasted. There had been moments, when Theo was alone with Scott, that he’d thought maybe things could be different. Maybe _ he _ could be different.

He’d gotten a taste of what it felt like to be good. To be valued, not as a tool for murder or a body to dissect and experiment on, but for the good he could do for others. He’d gotten a taste of what it felt like to have someone believe he could be something that was more than just the sum of all his sins.

So many times Theo’d felt his heart thud excitedly in his chest when he caught Scott’s eyes on him, glowing with approval. He’d taken a bullet to save someone he didn’t know. He’d held back when he could have gone for a kill. He knew that made Scott proud.

But no more. Because in the end, Theo understood that he wasn’t good. 

He knew where his true value lay. To Dread Doctors. Now to Scott. 

It was all the same. His hands were made for killing. He knew it. Scott knew it. Everyone knew it. 

Scott didn’t explicitly ask to stay and to kill for him, to surrender what little hope he still had for his humanity, to throw away everything that he had strived for, but he should have. Theo didn’t deserve redemption. He deserved to be a killer. He owed this to Scott. Better Theo’s soul be tarnished than Liam’s or Mason’s. 

 

*     *     *

The final battle was brutal.

Scott and his companions still tries to take as little life as possible. Peter and many other allies did not. 

The warehouse where it all went down reeked of metallic blood and gunpowder. The bodies of wolves and men fell down everywhere around them, never to rise again.

Theo held out for as long as he felt he deserved. He incapacitated the first few, tried to cling to his faux-innocence for just a few more seconds longer, and then he went for the kill.

He raised his claws, ready to slash out the throat of a man that had just tried to gun down Malia. 

He was shocked when he felt the grip of a strong hand wrap around his wrist and yank him backwards. He turned to face the person that had grabbed him, and found Scott, red eyes flickering back to brown, staring into him.

“No.” he said firmly.

Theo blinked at him, confused.

The clap of a grenade going off not that far from them split the air, but still Scott didn’t let go.

“Not you.” Scott explained.

Theo’s eyes widened.

Scott released him, but in that split second where Scott held his gaze, in those three short words, Scott had said everything.

 

_ I see you.  _

_ I know what this would do to you. _

_ I will not let you throw away everything that you’ve worked for. _

_ I will die before I ask that of you. _

_ To me, you are still worth saving. _

_ To me, your soul is worth saving. _

 

Scott slipped back into the fray, and Theo followed him.

 

*     *     *

 

It was finally over.

It took all of them longer to realize it than it probably should have. Through the smoke and wreckage, everyone searching for one another, for remaining dangers. It was Stiles’ ecstatic and relieved whoop that finally shook Scott from his search.

They’d won. They were all still alive.

It took minutes for it to finally sink in, and when it did a crushing wave of exhaustion overcame him. All of the endless days and sleepless nights, all the fears and anxieties Scott held tight to his chest finally caught up with him.

It was over, and the pack and most of their allies were still alive. He’d done it, even if he’d had to snap Monroe’s neck himself.

It was a surreal feeling, the breaking blood vessels and life leaving someone’s body in his hands. A feeling that he hoped he and the rest of his pack would never have to experience. The thing he’d tried everything else possible before resorting to.

But he had to, and he wouldn’t take it back. He’d resolved himself going in that if he had the opportunity to end this, for everyone, he would do it.

His final sacrifice for the people he loved and protected.

As the dust settled, all he wanted to do was curl up and sleep.

But he didn’t.

Instead he surveyed the aftermath, starting with the living. His pack, their injuries, physical and mental. He held Stiles for a long moment as the human laughed through broken and relieved tears. His face was speckled with blood and he didn’t even seem to notice it.

Derek hugged him next, then Chris, then Malia, Lydia, Parrish.

There was a bitter sweetness in the relief Scott felt. A guilt in feeling happy when he was standing on so many corpses. He couldn’t pass a single one without wondering if maybe he could have done something differently. Wondered if he’d been stronger or smarter if they would still be drawing breath.

“We have to call Liam.” Stiles said, wiping his eyes.

“We need to clean this up.” Scott replied.

It was all he could think. The last thing he had to do before he could allow himself to collapse.

A strong hand clapped him on the shoulder. He almost shuddered, but quickly realized it was only Chris.

“Theo and I will take care of it.” he said. “Go make the calls.”

_ Theo _ . Scott suddenly realized the chimera had been the only one that hadn’t hugged him in the aftermath and it pained him to think that it might be because he thought he wouldn’t be allowed to. He quickly surveyed the wreckage and saw him grimly dragging a body across the floor to a growing pile.

He went to move towards him, but Chris put a firm hand on his chest and held him back.

“Scott, we’ve got this.” Chris reaffirmed. “Go call your mother. She needs to know you’re okay, and that this is all over.”

_ Right. _ Scott’s tired brain struggled to work through the simple information.  _ Mom. _

He climbed into a familiar blue Jeep beside Stilles, and was soon followed by Malia and Lydia. He made his phone calls, which were met with a chorus of “ _ Thank God _ ”s and  _ “I can’t believe it’s finally over _ ”s between sobbing and excited exclamations.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
> For ScottWeek Theme 6: The True Alpha 

They all met up at an old farmhouse owned by the Hale family several hours outside of Beacon Hills. A bonfire was built by the hands of the younger pack. Drink and food were passed around with hugs and more tears as the sun set over the hills.

Chris and Theo joined them later than the rest. Scott watched as his mother met Chris in a passionate embrace, slipping his bloody jacket off his shoulders and pulling him to a place beside her at the fire.

It was strange to think that tonight wasn’t just an end, but also a beginning.

He knew he should be happy about that, but he couldn’t process it yet.

All of the smiles and relieved tears felt so surreal.

There was a miniscule droplet of wolfbane in the drink that’s pushed into his hand. Not enough to cause any harm, only enough to get a light buzz running through his blood. The pack passed similar drinks around so enthusiastically they sloshed over the rims of red plastic cups as they traded hands.

Scott only drank half of his before setting it down on a table and disappearing into the house for some quiet. He wasn’t ready to celebrate. He’d washed his hands and face, but he could still feel the blood soaked into his clothes and it was driving him crazy.

He picked up his dufflebag from the living room, he found a quiet room in the back of the house. The walls were lined with empty bookshelves. It must have once been a study. 

He tossed his jacket onto the floor and pulled the dust cover off a leather sofa before sinking down onto it and pulling the laces from his boots.

Blood had soaked it’s way through his shoes. It was dried and caked on the tops of his feet as he pulled off his socks. It hurt not to know where it had come from, or who it belonged to. Maybe it was his own. Maybe it was hers. Or maybe it was one of the other nameless people that had followed her. He would never know. 

He buried his face in his hands, no longer able to stand the sight of it, but not even a moment later he heard the door creak open.

“Scott?”

Burying the tears that were welling up inside him, Scott lifted his head to see Theo peering at him from the doorway.

“Hey.” Scott acknowledged him, heavily.

He wanted to be alone, but there was a strange haunted and vulnerable look in Theo’s eyes. He smelled like burnt flesh and gasoline, and Scott couldn’t find it in himself to turn him away. They still hadn’t talked once since their brief exchange on the field.

Scott could feel hesitation in Theo’s moves as he closed the door behind him cautiously approached. He was in the process of willing himself to stand up and pull Theo into a tired embrace, as he had the rest of the pack, when Theo sank down onto the dusty floor before him. Slumped on his knees, he gripped the back of Scott’s leg, dropped his forehead onto his thigh, and wept.

Scott blinked, staring at the back of Theo’s head as his shoulders shook with deep sobs.

There was dried blood splattered on his hair and neck. Possibly his own.

“Theo—” he whispered, startled by the sudden emotion.

Was Theo really this affected by the violence? Had Scott misjudged how much carnage Theo could take? Or was it that Scott had hugged everyone save him? Had that made him feel an outsider once again?

Guilt twisted in Scott’s chest as he recalled the distracted decision to let Theo clean up the bodies with Chris. He should have found him before he left. He should have made sure Theo was okay, as he had everyone else.

“ _ Thank you _ .” Theo choked out, his hot tears spilling down onto Scott’s bare feet.

_ Oh. _ It took Scott’s tired mind several moments to finally put together what Theo meant. To realize that Theo’s tears weren’t full of pain, but of gratitude. Relief.

But he knew precisely what Theo was saying.

“Theo,” Scott started again softly, his hand reaching into the grimey matted hair on the back of Theo’s head. “You don’t have—”

“Thank you.” Theo repeated, head still bowed as he gently squeezed the back of Scott’s calf. “Please just, you don’t—you don’t understand how much...”

“ _ Shh _ …” Scott found himself whispering, his fingers slipping under Theo’s chin “Theo, look at me, please.”

Theo slowly lifted his watery eyes.

“I do understand.” Scott assured him. “I know what it would have done to you.”

“But everyone else, you—”

“It’s not the same.” Scott said gently. “It doesn’t mean the same thing to everyone. You’ve been trying so hard...”

Theo bit his lip.

Scott wanted to pull him into a hug but didn’t know if he should. Theo could be so guarded when offered intimacy. He was open right now and Scott wasn’t ready to break it just yet.

“But  _ I  _ know…” Theo started, still keeping his eyes locked on Scott. “How much killing someone must have hurt  _ you _ .”

“Not as much as it would have hurt me to watch you do it.”

He meant it.

He would never be able to articulate everything that he’d felt the moment he saw Theo with his claws raised, about to take a life. He’d felt the pain drifting from him from several yards away.

He could see it in Theo’s eyes. He was about to sacrifice everything, because he thought he had to. Because he  _ owed _ it. Because it was all that he was worth.

Scott knew why Theo thought that. He’d been used for nearly all his life, his cut into him again and again and again. His self image sculpted by the Dread Doctor’s scalpel. Scott had suspected it even for the many whispered conversations in the aftermath of battles or the long dark stretch of a stake out where Theo’s let details of the abuse slip painfully from his lips.

Theo was worth so much more than what they’d convinced him he was.

He was strong, adaptable, smart. And deep down, beneath the mess of lies and twisted psychological armor, Theo was good.

Watching the goodness in Theo unfold, watching him grow, had been one of the few saving graces in the past three years. Fresh life springing forth from the ashes all around them. There was something still good. Even when everything seemed like it was going to shit.

Scott would _ die _ before sacrificing that.

“You trusted me to help you off that path.” Scott said, holding his gaze. “I’m not going to ask you to break a commitment you made to yourself.”

“I would have for you.” Theo whispered. 

“I  know you would have. But, Theo, I would  _ never _ want that from you.” Scott squeezed the back of Theo’s neck, gently. “That part of your life is over. You’re not my tool for murder. I would  _ never  _ use you like that. I don’t want you to think that I would  _ ever  _ ask you to do that. For me or anyone else. I had to sacrifice a lot today. I couldn’t sacrifice that too. Do you understand?”

Fresh tears slipped down Theo’s dirty face as Scott spoke, but he didn’t turn away. Eventually he nodded, and Scott wiped the tears from his face with his thumb.

He was still slightly surprised when Theo let him.

“You shouldn’t have had to be the one to kill her.” Theo muttered, finally breaking his eyes away as he turned his face into Scott’s palm.

“Theo, it could  _ only  _ have been me.” Scott whispered. “That’s what being a leader is. You don’t push the hard choices downhill. If I let her go, she would only find more innocent people to hurt. I  _ had  _ to.” 

“I know you did.” Theo whispered back, his eyes slowly finding Scott’s again in the darkening room. “But...are you okay?”

“Of course I am.” Scott said, automatically.

“Scott, ” Theo fixed him with a serious stare. “You don’t have to pretend that everything is fine right now. You just said you made a sacrifice today. You can say that it sucks.”

“What…” Scott drew in a heavy breath. “What good what that do?”

“For a few minutes, you wouldn’t have to pretend.”

Despite his best effort to keep them at bay, Scott felt tears start to gather in the corners of his eyes again.

If  _ Theo _ was crying...was it okay for him to cry too?

“It...it does suck.” he admitted as the tears slowly slid down his face. 

Theo gently squeezed his leg again, but there was a difference in this touch. It was less desperate, more gentile. His eyes prodding Scott to continue.

“I know it...it seems so selfish to be upset right now.” Scott found himself saying. “We won. None of us died. That’s better than we could have asked for.”

“It’s _ not  _ selfish.” Theo squeezed his knee harder, as if he were offended at the very idea. “Just because we won, doesn’t mean that the price doesn’t bite. You don’t have to pretend that everything is fine when it’s not.”

“I…” Scott sniffed, swallowing a heavy lump in his throat. “I really do, though.”

“For them?”

Scott nodded.

“Not for me.” Theo locked eyes with him. “Scott there is  _ nothing _ that you could say that would shock or disturb me. Whatever you’re feeling right now...trust me, it’s better to say it. That urge you feel to conceal? That’s  _ always _ what fucks us up the most.”

Scott let out a deep breath, felt it shudder in his lungs. Theo, of all people, would know that.

“Why does it suck, Scott?” Theo pried.

“It sucks…” he began slowly. “Because I know there was a part of me that liked it.”

He looked into Theo’s eyes, waiting for the judgement, but found none.

“The wolf?” he asked, knowingly.

“Yes.” Scott answered. “I don’t struggle to control it, not anymore. But that doesn’t mean that the instincts, the urges, that they aren’t still there. I have to fight them every single time I take my claws out. I have to hold back each and every time someone threatens me or the people I care about. And today...it was like that monster finally got fed. It finally got to rip into an enemy and put them down...and it liked it.”

“But you didn’t give in to the urge.” Theo pointed out. “You made a conscious decision. You took the path that put everyone else first, and your own needs last.”

“I know.” Scott heard his voice break at the admission. “But...but part of me just wonders what if it doesn’t end here? What if now that it’s tasted  _ real _ blood it won’t ever stop. It’ll slowly eat away at me, until I can’t recognize myself anymore, until I’m nothing but the monster...”

He closed his eyes. Took a deep steadying breath.

“Scott, Scott look at me.” Theo whispered to him.

With a second heavy breath Scott forced himself to open his eyes. 

“That is _ not _ going to happen.” Theo stated, emphatically. “You are the  _ most _ human person that I have  _ ever _ known. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from you it’s that no one can take something like that from you unless you give it to them. You’ll  _ never _ do that.”

Scott bit his lip.

“But…” Theo went on, relentlessly holding his gaze. “If you ever feel like you’re slipping, I swear to you, I’ll reign you in. I owe that to you.”

There was such conviction in Theo’s words, Scott didn’t doubt him.

And unlike the act of taking a life, that was a debt he would gladly accept.

Before Scott could convince himself not to he was pulling Theo up off his knees and into a tired embrace. Theo was stiff for a moment, like he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to hug him back, but his arms slowly wrapped around Scott’s back in return.

“Thank you.” Scott muttered into Theo’s shoulder, tears spilling from his lashes and wetting Theo’s jacket. “I...I believe that you would.”

Scott felt a shudder move through Theo’s chest as their embrace tightened. He let his arms grip the chimera’s body tighter, let his fingernails dig gently into the soft skin on the back of Theo’s blood-stained neck.

Up close Scott could smell the motel-brand shampoo in Theo’s hair, and there was something soothing about it even among the scents of burnt flesh and gasoline.

He knew that the end of the war was the beginning of the aftermath. He could feel it in the ragged tearful breath that was shuddering in his lungs, and he knew that he wasn’t the only one that would stumble through it. The flashbacks, the nightmares, the figuring out what happened next.

But the horrors were over.

And neither he, Theo, nor the rest of his pack, would have to face it alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Constructive comments and feedback are always very much appreciated!
> 
> This was the only thing I wrote from scratch for Scott Week, but I had the idea way back when watching the final episodes of 6B. I have one more fic for Scott Week coming, it'll be posted tomorrow, then I'll be back on updating my longer stories. ^_^
> 
> **Other Sceo Fics by me:**  
> [The Road After](https://archiveofourown.org/series/997737)  
> [Memoriae Fractum](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17160500/chapters/40349246)  
> [What Should Have Been Ours](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9862829/chapters/22131167)  
> [The Call](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11857773/chapters/26771910)  
> [21 Candles Shy](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16680262/chapters/39115849)  
> [Something Borrowed](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13977339/chapters/32180409)  
> [Adoption](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7802056%0A%20rel=)  
> ...and more on my [works](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DemonzDust/works) page.  
> 
> 
> If you're on Tumblr I share writing, art, gifs, ideas, and take requests on [my blog](https://https://demonzdust.tumblr.com/).

**Author's Note:**

> I originally conceived this as a one-shot for Scott McCall Appreciation Week but it ended up a little long so I broke it into two parts. This is mostly setup, the deeper Scott stuff will be in chapter 2. ^_^
> 
> Thoughts and feedback are always welcome and appreciated!


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